Petition against more 'destructive' Richard III research

The man who helped find the final resting place of King Richard III in Leicester has launched a petition against plans for more scientific tests on the former monarch's remains.

The University of Leicester announced earlier this month that it wanted to map the King's entire genetic code. John Ashdown-Hill has written a blog in which he labels the research "destructive" and "gratuitous", and urges others to sign his petition to block any more testing. The University has denied the claims, saying it has abided by all ethical codes governing research on human remains.

The news report will be on ITV Central tonight. Alternatively watch it online:

Unfortunately, in spite of the publicity it was given, the ITV broadcast didn't tell the full story. They didn't use any of the material they filmed with John where they asked him to compare the current treatment of Richard III's remains with the treatment of the remains of his niece by marriage, Princess Anne Mowbray, Duchess of York and Norfolk, in 1965. Nor did they explore what gives the University of Leicester the right to make a unilateral decision to take (i.e. destroy) further bone samples, given that the university's custodianship of the remains of Richard III is currently sub judice.